JCC Camps at Medford hosted a Fall Festival on October 30, 2022, bringing local members of the community together. Within this festive event, there was food, activities, arts and crafts, hay and horse carriage rides, music, and stands full of beautiful jewelry and other valuable items that brought the community together.

“The biggest part of the Jewish Community Center is building community, and so for us, the fall festival is an opportunity to welcome a really large percentage of the community to camp in the fall,” Sarah Sideman says, the host of the fall festival at JCC Camps at Medford.

Upon entering the festival, the camp provided food stands and trucks, including Mr. Softee and Kona Ice. With music from DJ Blake adding to the excitement, pumpkin picking and decorating were offered, as well as people selling items like crafted jewelry. Most children found enjoyment in the zip-lining and rock-climbing events at the festival. Also, moon bounce activities such as bounce houses and courses were available for children to participate in with friends and family.

At the festival, guests participated in hayrides and horse carriage rides, which allowed them to view the scenery at the JCC Camps at Medford. A few members working within this event are also owners of a llama farm, so anyone on the hayride or horse carriage was informed and educated about llamas, all they can do, the process by which the farm came to be, and taking care of the llamas.

Sarah Sideman, the host of the festival, has been running this event for seven consecutive years, bringing people of the community together through the activities offered. Sideman mentions that the camp is sold out for this upcoming summer, so rather than this festival being more of an “open house”, its purpose is to bring children and families of the community closer together.

The JCC also works with its community partners and other Jewish organizations, such as synagogues or the Jewish Community Relations Council, allowing the JCC to open up its camp and organization to a significant percentage of the community.

This festival at the JCC Camps at Medford did an exceptional job of bringing the community together. Also, it helped support the upcoming summers at the camp and provided a delightful opening to the fall season.